Benefits, types, plants, and more

The advantages of a green roof

A green roof doesn't just have a visual impact. It has many advantages for the house and its residents:

• The plants protect the roof from the weather and sunlight.
• Thermal insulation in winter
• Heat protection in summer
• Improvement of the surrounding climate through water retention and release as well as pollutant filtering
• Habitat for insects and birds

the Green roof has no drawbacks.

Extensive versus intensive green roofs

A distinction is generally made between two types of green roofs: extensive and intensive. While the extensive green roof applies layers of 6 to 24 cm on the roof, the intensive 25 cm creates up to one meter of earth or Layer applied. The choice of plants is very limited with extensive greening; with intensive greening, an entire garden can be planted on the roof.

The prerequisite for being able to plant a roof

A green roof puts a considerable amount of additional weight on the roof. A wet layer that is only a few centimeters thick can weigh up to 120kg per square meter. Therefore, not every roof is suitable for greening. Stable pitched roofs can usually be planted without any problems, flat roofs of free-standing carports may not be suitable for such a weight. In general, if the roof is accessible, it can also be planted, at least with extensive green roofing, i.e. a less thick layer of plants. If in doubt, you should definitely consult a structural engineer.

What is a roof planted with?

With extensive green roofs, only plants with shallow roots can be planted. Common are:

• Mosses
• Sedum species
• low grass

What does a roof planting cost?

You can easily lay an extensive green roof on a flat roof yourself - ideally with a commercially available complete set. You can get these online from € 40 per square meter and they usually contain all foils, substrates and fleeces as well as seeds or Sprouts. You can find out more about the costs and the complete packages here.